When an Oblivious Handsome Older Man Went Back in Time and Was Building Harlem - Chapter 22

The sound of sneakers squeaking. Cheers echoing from all around.

Starting today, the basketball club is going on a training camp. Even though it’s called a training camp, it’s just for 3 nights and 4 days with only the regular and bench members, so I think it will feel much more intense compared to usual.

“Next! After a 5-minute break, we’ll do sprints!!”

“Yes!!”

I respond to the captain’s words and hydrate. The training camp has just started, and I just finished leg strength training indoors. We were able to borrow a gym with air conditioning, but even though it hadn’t been 30 minutes since we started, the gym was already humid.

“It’s hot. Why does Aki look so cool?”

“Yeah, it’s hot. And the managers were worried.”

“Ah, I see. I hope you don’t burn yourself or cut your hand with a knife.”

We chat while gulping down sports drinks. I think that if we keep running like this, we’ll finish this 2-liter bottle. Still, I can’t help but wonder if it was okay that I only gave that little bit of advice this morning.

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Five members of the cooking team asked me for cooking advice while I was on the move.

“Takai-sensei!”

“Pfft, Takai-sensei! I want to ask a question too!”

“Don’t mind Midori. Please, go ahead, Itou-san.”

Ignoring the laughing and joking from Midori next to me, I turned to Itou-san, who asked the question first.

“Is it okay if we have paella for lunch and curry for dinner?”

“Ah, so that ended up being the menu after all. Yeah, if that’s the case, it makes sense.”

“Can we eat that again? It was so delicious, Midori-chan is happy!”

The three managers I made before were pleased with those words. I think it’s because they can be considerate in these situations, even though they are usually annoying, that they are popular.

“Thank you, Yuuki-kun! I’ll do my best to make it delicious for everyone! …Wait, that’s not it. I had a question too! I bought some cookie cutters at the 100 yen shop, so can I make the carrots cute?”

After Shimozono-san laughed at Midori’s compliment, she suddenly seemed to remember something and asked me a question.

“Cutting out shapes is cute, isn’t it? But it can take a lot of time, so you should set a time limit for it. And for the leftover edges after cutting out the shapes, you can just chop them finely.”

“Thank you, Takai-sensei.”

Remembering such things, the basketball team, including myself, was doing sprints. Since having about 15 people running around would be a nuisance, we were running laps around the facility. Occasionally, we could see the managers cooking, and that motivated everyone to keep going. After finishing the 30 minutes of sprints, Midori and I collapsed near the water faucet.

“It’s hot. I’m going to die… The tap water should be lukewarm, but it feels cold…”

“Midori, it’s okay. You won’t die from something like this.”

Thanks to all the training at the police academy, I was still able to endure this scorching hell. But it was still hot. At least there was a break, and I could pour water over my head, which was a bit of a relief.

“Midori, we’re going to the next shooting practice.”

“Eh? Aki-chan is seriously a stamina demon!”

And after completing numerous practices, we were now at lunchtime. A delicious aroma was already wafting through the cafeteria, suggesting that the five of us had worked hard. The food must have turned out delicious. The manager served us, and we all took our meals and sat down.

“Then, let’s thank the manager and Itou-san and Miwano-san for their help! Thank you for the food!!”

“Thank you for the food!!”

At the captain’s command, we say “Thank you for the food.” From there, we eat voraciously, our plates emptying quickly as we ask for seconds, just like the members of the basketball club.

“Um, well.”

The senpai went for the first round of seconds, but they were kind of mumbling.

“What is it? Just say it clearly.”

The captain, who was watching the scene, made a comment. I thought I should have said something clearly too, but since they’re technically the senpai, I had to stay quiet.

“Um, it was super delicious. Thank you for making it, everyone.”

When the senpai said that, the five of them, including the manager, Itou-san, and Miwano-san, were all delighted and cheering.

“Yay! For a beginner, I did pretty well, didn’t I?!!”

“Yeah!!”

At this point, the cafeteria became a bit noisy. Probably because the taste didn’t seem beginner-like.

“Huh, you were a beginner? It was really delicious during practice too, but this time it got even better, so the senpais must be surprised, right? Oh, I want a second helping too!”

“Yuuki-kun, we’re just beginners as managers. Thank you for the extra help. Oh, and please tell Takai-kun sitting next to you thank you.”

“Aki, everyone is saying thank you!!!”

I could hear them, but I thought there was no need to shout loudly from the line for seconds. But I was glad that my teaching had paid off. After finishing the meal, I was bombarded with questions from five people asking how it was, and of course, since I had done well, I jokingly praised them to death, making everyone blush and flustered, but at that time, I had no idea.